Rapper strives to undo educational inequalities

Whether he’s rhyming about math, metaphors or mishaps in dating, Brandon Contreras, a fourth-year applied mathematics student, is out to prove that rap can be hard without hard subject matter.

The verses aren’t necessarily light and fluffy either, but always true to Contreras’ experiences in student life.

“Unlike a lot of the rappers, I’ve never been in a gang, sold drugs or shot anyone, and I won’t rap about that,” Contreras said. “I just try to stay true to myself, and make the lyrics in the most creative way possible.”

Inner awareness and creativity evidently paid off in May in the form of unprecedented musical success for Contreras, or BC, as he is known to the UCLA community.

Contreras more than accomplished his goal of making it to Spring Sing as the rapper for the group 3:26, the winner of the Las Doñas Award for Best Band Entry.

While performing 3:26’s original song, “Undo,” BC shaped his thumb and index finger into an acute angle while he rapped the verse that made the book-smart females in the Spring Sing audience chuckle, if not swoon.

“Your body temperature must be less than 90 degrees / ’cause you’re acute girl / at any angle that I look, not to mention / You’re the educated type; no stranger to a book / Those are just two of the reasons I can see you with me / I love you ““ and that’s reason No. 3,” he rapped.

The seemingly ambiguous group name 3:26 is also a mathematical reference, courtesy of Contreras.

“My favorite number is three, and the song “˜Undo’ was written for a girl whose favorite number is 26,” Contreras said. “Since I am a math person, 3:26 is like a ratio: three to 26; me to her. I proposed the idea (to the rest of the group) and they didn’t mind. Now here we are: 3:26!”

The same month, after receiving the Spring Sing award and gaining fame on the UCLA campus, Contreras reached another career milestone when he won the prestigious Song of the Year songwriting contest for his song, “The Realest.” The contest supports the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, and is judged by Grammy winners as well as representatives from Rolling Stone magazine and ABC, among others.

The award-winning verses of “The Realest” are a more scholastic take on the bragging rights of every rap artist, and even draw inspiration from literary devices quite familiar to many college students.

“I’m a plate of simile, with a cup of metaphor / Side of some hyperbole and innuendos galore / A euphemism, allusion, alliteration dessert / I don’t need your little tips, just sit and get served,” state the lyrics.

“School is a big part of my life, and every song I make usually has references that all students can relate to, (even) the song in which every rapper brags about himself,” Contreras said.

Though most of Contreras’ songs are uncomplicatedly witty and humorous like “The Realest,” typically lighthearted lyrics make way for more serious issues facing education today in “Trials and Tribulations,” which meditates on the campus’ lack of racial diversity.

“UCLA invitation; elation / Show up at orientation / Realization to my fascination / Whole population: Asians, Caucasians / Beyond imagination; I need an explanation / Maybe blacks have “˜Late Registration’ / Maybe browns got “˜Board of Education,'” Contreras sings in “Trials and Tribulations.”

“I was taking education classes during the quarter I was writing the song, and learning a lot about inequalities that are going on and the rallies about the diversity crisis. I wanted to address that in the song,” Contreras said.

More than simply rapping about the diversity situation, Contreras plans to effectively change the reality of education and learning. Passion for educational reform is present in both his lyrics and his daily affirmations.

“My main goal is to finish school this year, and be the first person in my family to do so,” Contreras said. “I will then get a master’s degree in education, and eventually go back to my high school to teach math. Over half of Carson High doesn’t graduate, as seen in many other underprivileged schools. It needs more caring teachers, and I think I could help contribute to the overall cause.”

Contreras is keeping his goals primarily in educational reform, and wants to encourage more teens from historically underprivileged neighborhoods to go to college. Though he is concentrating on schoolwork, he said he would not be opposed to using his musical and lyrical talent to help the kids be more passionate about learning.

“If there’s anything I could do with music that would help kids want to go to college, I would definitely be on the list for that,” Contreras said.

During his last year at UCLA, Contreras will continue to perform with 3:26, but has no upcoming solo shows. He keeps music as simply a healthy hobby.

“I am just taking it track by track for now,” Contreras said. “(I’m) focusing on finishing school and just seeing what happens next.”

Contreras has no plans to release another CD, but fans can listen to his music on his MySpace page. Whether it is with 3:26 or through solo endeavors such as the “Song of the Year” contest, it is unlikely that UCLA has heard the last of Contreras’ witty lyricism about student trivialities and the commitment to better education.

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